The Wine Observer

Watch out for the Tejo region of Portugal. Today, the region is barely known outside of Portugal, but I expect it to make a major splash on world markets in the next few years. It has the winning combination of price and quality that few other regions or country can match.

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Posted May. 8, 2014 at 12:01 AM

Posted May. 8, 2014 at 12:01 AM

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Watch out for the Tejo region of Portugal. Today, the region is barely known outside of Portugal, but I expect it to make a major splash on world markets in the next few years. It has the winning combination of price and quality that few other regions or country can match.

The Tejo region of Portugal is situated along the banks of the Tejo (Tagus) river in southern Portugal. It features some beautiful, ancient cities, and ideal conditions for the cultivation of vines. The Tejo wines are elegant, powerful, and amazingly affordable.

If I was to recommend one Tejo wine, it would be the Forma de Arte Reserva. You can find it for about $14 at all the local wine shops, such as Crush Fine Wines, Cardoza's, Lee's Market, and Portugalia Marketplace in Fall River. I was amazed by this wine when I first tried it at a Portugalia tasting about a month ago; it was hard to believe that a $14 wine could be so good.

Last week, Crush Fine Wines in New Bedford had the Forma de Arte open during their big spring wine tasting. I tried this wine again — just to be sure if my first impression was correct — and it was. This obscure little $14 wine, amongst all the mighty Bordeaux and Burgundies, stole the show.

But the Forma de Arte is just one of many superb wines from Tejo.

Portugal is full of indigenous grapes that are grown nowhere else, and Tejo has its share. My favorite so far is the Fernão Pires white grape, which can be found in the Quinta Do Casal Monteiro White from Tejo. British wine writer Jancis Robinson said the grape was "arrestingly perfumed..."

White wines run the gamut from bland oaked Chardonnays to the piercing sharp cat-pee scented Sauvignon Blancs of New Zealand, but the Quinta Do Casal Monteiro White strikes the right balance between acidity and fruitiness. As befitting such an obscure grape, you can only find this wine in the outstanding collection of Portuguese wines at Portugalia Marketplace in Fall River, for about $9.

When I am shopping for white wines, I generally prefer to buy a locally-produced wine from a vineyard such as Westport Rivers, Running Brook, Sakonnet Vineyards or Travessia, but I make an exception for the Casal Monteiro White since the Fernão Pires cannot be grown locally.

Last week, our tasting group tried a mix of Portuguese wines: the Quinta Do Casal Monteiro White 2013 and Red 2010 from Tejo, plus Esteva from the Douro, and the premium Esporão Reserva from Alentejo.

Everyone enjoyed the Casal Monteiro White with its Fernão Pires grape, but it was the Casal Monteiro Red that got the most oohs and aahs. The best nose in the group compared it to a fine Bordeaux, which is not surprising, considering that it is 30 percent Merlot and 30 percent Syrah in addition to 40 percent indigenous Portuguese grape. In typical Tejo fashion, this wine is a steal at $9.

Tejo wines are hard to find locally; there are only a few available so far, but that should change. The Forme de Arte can be found at most local wine shops. As far as I know, the Casal Monteiro White and Red can only be found at Portugalia Marketplace, along with another fine Tejo wine called the Cabeça de Toiro Reserva (Bull's Head).